100% am not trying to call you out on anything, because I do think you care about the issue of mental health, but we shouldn't necessarily judge what makes people happy and what happens when something like that is taken away from them.
For instance, suicide is highly common due to relationship shakeups, whether that be a breakup, a divorce, or even a relationship in which you can't be happy in. For people who don't understand relationships, they might think that it's ridiculous that someone would take their life because of that. No one will ever truly understand what that person is feeling, especially in the moment.
Sports can go along with that. Sports have been a constant for everyone. No one, especially within that age range group, have had to deal with sports being taken away. I think it's taken a toll on a lot of people, because sports have been, for some, a way to escape something within their life. A breakup, a death in the family, a tough job, etc. They can help fill the void and create happiness. I think they're highly important in not just this country, but the entire world.
With that being said, I think that increase might have less to do with sports, but more to do with COVID. Lots of people have not been able to do a lot of different things that make them happy, not just watch sports. And to add to that, different social programs have either been halted, cut, or have gone online and might not be as effective to some.